The Champion of Sun and Moon: The Lightning Thief
by TheMythWriter
Summary: The weapons of Big Three have gone missing, and the Olympian Council decides that a Quest to retrieve the weapons is required. Now Percy Jackson must lead his two best friends in a search for the three Divine weapons along the breadth of the country. Will they survive the monsters, or will they not?
1. Chapter 1

_**Happy Valentine's Day**_

Disclaimer- I do not own The Percy Jackson and the Olympiad series or the Heroes of Olympus series. Only the changes in storyline are mine, as are any original characters.

This is the First chapter of the Champion of Sun and Moon: The Lightning Thief. It is the sequel to the Early Years. It follows the canon storyline of The Lightning Thief with my special twist.

**Chapter 1**

It was about a month before school was to end, and Percy was the one of the few persons who did not want it to end. Don't misunderstand him, he loved the holidays, and he even liked going to camp and spending his time with his friends. But he liked it more to spend time with his guardians-cum-patrons-cum-cousins Apollo and Artemis, where he could practice all his powers without abandon, and where his family can easily visit him without any problems. In the two summers he had spent in camp with his best friend Luke and Thalia, he had terribly missed his family. And speaking of best friends, his best friend Thalia, on whom he had a small crush, ok very big crush, was moaning near him about the approaching exams. Thalia was both ADHD and dyslexic, and hence exams were hell for her. She kept on her ranting, but Percy tuned her out and reflected on the unnatural storms and clouded weather that have had been happening on the coastal areas for the past day. He had inferred that for some reason, Zeus and his father Poseidon were angry. Yes, you are correct, Percy was a son of Poseidon, the god of Seas and also his best friend Thalia was also a demigod, a daughter of Zeus and his other best friend Luke was a son of Hermes.

Percy decided that he would go to Apollo's mansion for the next weekend, and when he said this to Thalia, she jumped up and asked, "Are you mad? We have our exams after this week, and you want to go to home in the weekend?" Percy stared at her and asked, "And I care why?" Thalia stared at him, and gave a defeated sigh, "Alright Mr. Genius, sure you can go. After all, you have all the studies on the tip of your tongue." Percy smirked, before saying, "After all, I am Perseus 'Awesome' Jackson." Thalia hit him on the shoulder, before both of them dissolved into laughter.

They went to the Goode High School, which was a progressive school near Apollo's Condo in New York. It allowed the children to live in hostels and still visit guardians over weekend with parental permission, which both of them had, and used shamelessly due to the closeness of the house.

When the weekend came, Percy was ready to go, but as he packed his backpack, he was suddenly greeted by the sight of another backpack being slammed near his. When he looked up, he saw a resigned looking Thalia also ready to leave. When Percy raised an inquisitive eyebrow, Thalia sighed and said, "It's no use studying now since I cannot even read the words properly under stress. I believe I too need a break." Percy smirked and nodded, before they were out of the school campus. Percy decided that a stroll down to his home would be good, since it was only 5 blocks from the school. As they walked, Thalia asked Percy, "Percy, I believe something has been bothering you. Can't you tell me what is it?" Percy sighed and answered, "The freak weather is worrying me. I believe that the storms have even baffled meteorologists, as they are appearing suddenly without any reasons. Hence I believe that both of our fathers are angry. That's why I wanted to contact Apollo and Artemis, which is the cause why I am going home this weekend." Thalia looked thoughtful before nodding her head.

As they reached the mansion of Apollo in New York, they saw that both Apollo and Artemis were in their 25 year old form and were looking frantic. As soon as they saw Percy and Thalia, they ran over to them, and said, "Percy, Thalia, it's good that you two are here. We were going to retrieve you from your school now." When Percy asked what happened to them, "Artemis replied, "There are all the signs of making of a three-way slugfest between Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. Zeus' bolt has been stolen as are Hades' helm and Poseidon's trident. Poseidon is blaming Thalia and Zeus is blaming Percy whereas Hades is saying it is done by both of you together. The news was discovered yesterday, and today we have an emergency meeting of the Olympian Council along with Hades. So you two remain in the house and don't go out, as no one can find you here." Then both of them started glowing. Percy and Thalia immediately closed their eyes, as they knew that looking at the true form of a god can incinerate a mortal.

Percy and Thalia sat on the couch and switched on the television, before turning with an extremely worried expression toward each other. As they sat in the nervous silence for a few minutes, Percy started feeling uncomfortable and said, "Don't worry Thals, we each have an alibi for the other. Also, our school is far way from Olympus, and Apollo and Artemis think they don't know, but I believe I have a wind nymph who follows me everywhere I go except for the toilet thankfully. I will be able to properly co-relate my story, and I believe that Apollo and Artemis also keep track of me throughout the day and night, and would be able tell that to the Council. Also, I believe that during last week, both of us had the same classes and spent almost all of our awake time together, which would avert the suspicion of your fathers from the two of us. Besides, your father's bolt was stolen, as was my father's trident. Most of the other gods will be able to convince the gods that we are not the thieves, but it is someone else." Thalia nodded mutely before hugging Percy tightly before saying, "I am afraid what will happen if the other gods are unable to convince them of our innocence." Percy hugged back Thalia and said, "Don't worry Thalia they would be successful in making our dads understand. Believe on it."

Thalia reluctantly left Percy and watched the television, but her worry was evident as she kept chewing on her lower lip. Percy looked at her and said, "Do you know, you look extremely cute when you worry your lower lip like that." Thalia frowned at him, and Percy was immediately alarmed and asked, "Did I say something wrong? If I said, please forgive me, I am sorry." Thalia laughed and said, "You also look very cute when you are thinking and your forehead gets all scrunched up. But I was asking, am I ugly for rest of the time?" Percy vigorously shook his head before replying, "No, not at all. I think that you are extremely beautiful and cute all the time." Thalia heard the dreamy edge in Percy's voice and thought that finally she might get together the courage needed so that she can confess to Percy that she has a huge crush on him. For you see, she also had a crush on Percy, though she was conflicted, as she was not sure if Percy liked her back or not, and she also knew Luke liked her, and though she also liked the son of Hermes, but as a brother.

But the dreamy voice Percy used to describe her, and the fact that he said that she looked beautiful all the time, lit new hope in her heart. But as she was about to confront Percy, the door burst open and a tired looking Apollo and Artemis walked in. When they met the inquisitive eyes of the demigods, both of them sat down and began, "Well the 'Big Three' are extremely stubborn, but we were able to make them believe that you are not responsible for the theft, as you were in the school whole day. Also you were not among the demigods who came for a visit of the Olympus that day, and it was finally understood by our father and uncles that you are blameless. But Hades was the most stubborn, and we had to concede his demand that you two should be in the quest to retrieve it, with Percy as the leader, as he has better abilities in weapons. Also, they have threatened each other with war if their weapons are not returned within 10 days."

Percy and Thalia looked at each other and seemed to communicate through their eyes, before they sighed and said to Apollo and Artemis, "It's not as if we have any choice. We will do the quest, but I believe we have to go to Camp Half-Blood to retrieve our third team member and get a prophecy for the quest." Thalia added, "Now I don't even have to give the exams. At least there is something good in it." Artemis clucked her tongue, and said, "Not so fast young lady. We will arrange with the school authorities to allow you to take your exams after you have completed your quest." Thalia gave a pained groan, but went to her room to ready herself so that he can go to camp.

The two friends were ready within half an hour, and came out of the rooms dressed for a long quest. They were wished luck by both Apollo and Artemis, before both of them got and headed to the door, as they were going, Apollo snapped his fingers, and all their things they had to collect from their school appeared, and three packed quest bags also appeared, the third with Luke's name. Percy smiled and thanked him again, before leading Thalia out. Percy called for Arion, he had learned that Thalia was afraid of heights after their school had taken them mountain trekking. He got a lot of blackmail and teasing material out of that bit of information. As soon as Arion reached them, Percy greeted him, before saying, "Hurry up buddy, today we have an important quest to begin."

Arion helped them reach Camp in a few minutes; and by the time they reached Camp, both the demigods were grinning like lunatics due to the speed rush they experienced. When they walked into Chiron's office with two quest bags, it was a credit to Chiron that he didn't even bat an eyelash, said, "Very good. I see have been informed of your latest quest. I am sure you would be successful in the quest. Percy, you can go and meet the oracle. I will call Luke here." Percy nodded and moved towards the attic, where the mummy-cum-oracle was kept.

Percy entered the attic, which was spooky in its own right, and went towards the mummified oracle. It was one of those few things which could spook out anyone. Percy faced the Oracle, and it sat up straight and said green smoke billowed out of its mouth. Percy heard a strange voice inside his head, saying, "_I am the Spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, the Slayer of Mighty Python. Approach, Seeker, and ask_." Percy gathered his courage and said, "What do I have to do to retrieve the weapons of the Big Three?" The green smoke that had poured out from the Oracle's mouth formed a scene of a large city with many high rises, before Percy heard,

Go west to the god who has turned,

Find what were stolen, and see it safely returned,

Go on wheels, to find the true thief,

Succeed, to be betrayed by one who you call a friend.

The green smoke retreated into the Oracle's mouth, and the mummy slumped into its frame. Percy knew his audience with the Oracle was over and returned to Chiron's office, thinking about the words that the Oracle had spoken. When he reached Chiron's office, he saw that Luke was being briefed about the situation. He entered the room as soon as the briefing finished, and was immediately surrounded by Thalia, Luke and Chiron. Chiron asked him about the prophecy, and Percy recited it, causing Luke to remark, "It is a good Oracle that predicts a sort of both success and possible failure, so that it cannot be wrong." Percy and Thalia laughed, even Chiron gave a smile. Before he turned grave and said, I believe the first part of prophecy is clear, "You have to go west, and it probably means Los Angeles, as it has the entrance to the underworld in it. The prophecy also specifies your means of transport. As all of you are ready, I believe you should leave at the earliest, as you have a fixed time period to work inside of." Percy asked Chiron, "But Chiron, if the helm of Hades is also stolen, then shouldn't we go to San Francisco? After all, the Mountain of Despair is situated there." Chiron shook his head, saying, "No Percy, most of the gods believe that Hades has stolen the symbols of power, and is faking the theft of his symbol of power. I believe that the prophecy refers to Los Angeles."

All the three demigods nodded, before they picked up their bags and walked, Chiron went to the dining pavilion and blew the conch horn, and within a few minutes, the entire camp was assembled there. Chiron said in a loud voice, "Heroes, the weapons of the big three was stolen, and thief has not been apprehended till now. The gods have decided to send Thalia Grace, Perseus Jackson and Luke Castellan in a quest to retrieve the weapons. I wish them the best of luck on their quest. May Tyche favor them!" And he led the trio of demigods towards the camp borders, where Argus was waiting for them to take them to the bus station in a Camp car. As they were reaching for the camp, Percy was stopped by Ethan, who gave him a cap and said, "Hey Perce, I thought I was going to miss you all. Here is gift from the Hermes cabin, which I had been planning to give Luke for completing 2 years as the counselor, but I think it would serve you better." When Percy looked properly at the cap, he saw that a pair of wings were kept folded at the cap's side and thanked Ethan, saying, "Thanks Ethan, I am grateful for your gift, but I cannot use it myself, as Zeus would blast me out of the sky, and Thalia can fly using her own powers. It would be best if you give it to Luke." Ethan looked reluctant, which Percy stored at the back of his head for further thinking, and saw Ethan give the cap to Luke and to show him how to use it.

Percy, Luke and Thalia finally bade Chiron and Ethan goodbye, but not before Percy pulled Chiron aside and asked, "Chiron, what about the Romans?" Percy had informed Chiron that he knew of the Romans, and Chiron had almost collapsed in his shock, stammering about not knowing what he was telling. Chiron replied, "I am not sure Percy, but Roman Camp doesn't even know the location of Olympus. Romans are not as close to the gods as the Greeks are, and the Roman gods don't show much emotion on the public, nor are they fond of the publicly visible relationships of Greeks and therefore the location of Mt. Olympus was kept a secret from them." Percy nodded and left in the Camp vehicle.

It was the beginning of the latest adventure of Percy Jackson, which would have many far-reaching effects in his life. But did not have the slightest idea what secrets he will encounter in his latest adventure with his best friends.

**It was the first chapter of The Champion of Sun and Moon: The Lightning Thief. I know it is a little rushed and there are many plot holes. But I still hope you all will enjoy this. Leave your views in the reviews please.** **And again, a Happy Valentine's Day.**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- Refer to Chapter 1

Here is the expected 2nd chapter. I really hope you all like it, as it took about 10 days to complete it. Review and give your feedback and ideas. And most importantly, enjoy.

**Chapter 2**

Argus drove them to Manhattan, before dropping them in the bus stop. They boarded the bus when it arrived after waiting for half an hour; when they were playing pass the packet sitting in the bus stop. As the bus was about to leave, three old ladies entered the bus. It didn't take much for Percy to recognize them as the furies. He immediately understood that Hades was bent on creating problem for them, so that they would fail. 'Well', he thought, 'The quest's going to get interesting.'

His friends, near him, it appeared, had also recognized the three old women. Luke had an ashen face where was Thalia was muttering highly colorful Greek curses, though both of them did not speak out about the monsters near them. They reached Ninth Avenue, heading to the Lincoln Tunnel. Percy turned to his friends and said, "The tunnel block any light from outside, leaving only the aisle lights on. The Kindly ones are ready to attack us as soon as we reach Lincoln Tunnel." Thalia's face became even more pale, as she asked, "Any back exit?" Luke replied in negative, as Percy spoke, "The Kindly Ones are already sitting near the emergency exit. The only chance we have is to try and hold them back till we are out of the tunnel. Then we can try killing them and try to not destroy the bus." He added the last line with a smile, but his mood was not echoed by his friends. Thalia immediately asked, "Very well Percy. Can you explain how we are going kill three of the furies without harming the bus or the mortals?" Percy thought for a moment and shrugged, before saying, "We have to wing it, because here comes the tunnel."

The bus entered the tunnel, and it was completely dark except for the aisle lights. The three demon grandmothers announced that they were going to bathroom, and started moving towards the seat of the three demigods. Percy immediately took out his pens, Luke started fingering his ring-cum-sword and Thalia immediately went for the two daggers she had found in the camp armory. The three furies also took out their flaming whips, but none of the mortals seemed to notice. The leading fury, Alecto, flung her towards Percy, but he managed to trap the whip between his swords and pull it forwards, causing Alecto to fall forward. But before Percy could vaporize her, the other two furies flung their whips and caught Percy's swords and tried to pull them. Percy tried to hold on, but when he saw it was a futile exercise, he immediately released, which caused the swords and with it, the whips, to go flying. By now, the bus had emerged from the tunnel and all the passengers were pointing towards Alecto who had fallen down. Alecto got up and cracked her whip at an unarmed Percy, but he caught it, and though the whip made a gash on his hand, he pulled it with all his strength and immediately used it to tie up Alecto. It was then that the people started noticed that the three old women were attacking the three teens and the teens were defending themselves using some metallic weapons. When they saw one of the teens tie up one of the old ladies, they thought that the teens were harassing the old ladies, but when they saw the blood flowing from Percy's hand, they immediately tried to help the three friends.

When Percy saw this, he was worried, but his attention was distracted when the other two furies got up, having managed to retrieve their whip. But as the second fury cracked her whip, Percy intercepted it with his spear, pulling the whip away and trying to stab the fury. But the fury got away from the strike, just in time for the spear to hit the chest of the third fury, causing it to vaporize. It was at that time Percy put back his spear and took out one of his swords. The unarmed Fury moved back towards the driver and when Percy attacked, sidestepped, causing Percy to destroy some of the mechanism. The bus went out of control, but Percy vaporized fury in the next strike.

But soon afterwards, the bus collided, which cause the doors to open and the passengers streamed out. Percy asked Thalia and Luke to grab their bags, and as soon as they got out, they saw a huge arc of lightning hit the bus, blasting it. Percy saw that the people were hyperventilating, whereas some were pointing to them in an accusatory manner, the mist obviously changing their memory. When Percy saw a man taking out a camera, he gave a shrill whistle, which attracted the attention of all people. He snapped his fingers, concentrating on manipulating the mist, before saying, "People, the three of us are FBI agents, and were on a covert mission. The miscreants we had to catch were responsible for the crash and the blast. Now that we have completed the mission, we will retire from your company." He then quickly led his friends out of the clearing on the shore of Hudson River and led them into the forest. After walking for a few minutes, Luke spoke up, "Now how will we reach our destination? By walking all the way there?"

Percy shook his head before saying, "No Luke, we have to walk for a few hours today, tomorrow we will catch a train to go to Los Angeles. It's just that it is easier to lose monsters from your tail in the forest. Now keep quiet and follow me." After walking for about an hour, they came upon an enticing smell of junk food. The three of the came to a shop compound, which was

**Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium**

Both Thalia and Luke immediately started moving inside, with Percy following them warily. He felt a sense of foreboding, and was cautious. It came as side effect of being the Champion of the God of Prophecy. They saw that the yard was littered with many stone statues. All were life-like, but what was noted by Percy was that some of them had an expression of fear on their face. Percy was even more wary, but for the love of his life, he could not remember which monster this could be, and he was not even sure if he was not being overly paranoid. The smell of food seemed to muddle up his mind…. Percy broke out of the reverie with a jolt, and immediately understood that it was the lair of some monster. He was immediately on his guard, but when he tried to warn his friends, he found that they were under the monster's spell, which probably generated complacency.

He followed them into the front of the shop, and saw that an old lady with a veil was sitting there who, as soon as she saw them, came out of her seat, and asked, "Are you children lost? This is generally an abandoned road. Do you three need any help from me?" Thalia and Luke were about to say the truth, but Percy cut in saying, "We were in the bus accident in the Hudson coast. We have lost our parents in the forest and were searching for them when we stumbled upon your shop. Can you tell us the way out of this forest? We can manage on our own after that." Luke and Thalia gave him disapproving glares, but Aunty Em was not ruffled. She said, "Oh, you poor dears. First you should eat something. I just love children, but now-a-days no one comes here after the highway was made."

She led the three heroes to a cafeteria inside the shop and made them sit on a table as he went inside, saying, "You children wait here. I will bring you something to eat. All of you look starved." As soon as the lady was gone, Percy rounded upon his friends and said, "I am warning you, there is something of with the old lady. Be careful and don't reveal anything important. But he was cut off by Luke, who said, "Oh keep quite Percy. She is only a sweet old lady. You are being too paranoid." Percy was about to reply to Luke's accusation when Aunty Em came in holding platters of fast food for them. Even Percy relaxed after eating the food, which was tasty as hell.

Thalia asked, "Are all alone here Aunty Em?" She nodded saying, "Once I was a very happy young lady. I had two sisters and a boyfriend. But a lady who was jealous of me caused an accident. It disfigured me and even my boyfriend left me. Only my sisters remained with me, helping me in any way they could, but they also faded with time. Now it is very lonely, and with the new highway, not many people visit the shop."

It was during a lull in conversation that Percy heard the hissing noise coming from Aunty Em, and his mind travelled to snakes. Percy remembered about the two sisters and the frightened statues and immediately connected the dots, and recognized that it was Medusa, the only mortal Gorgon. Percy was anxious to avoid a confrontation, as she was very dangerous,, and finishing the last bite of the burger, he stood up saying, "We should leave. There must be people searching for us." Luke looked as if he didn't want to go, but one glare from Percy, and he was also ready to leave. But Aunty Em said, "Oh, you all are leaving. Can't you pose for one picture? Children's statues are very popular these days." Percy opened his mouth to say no, but Luke spoke up, "It all right Aunty Em, we will give a pose."

Percy saw it was unwise to start a fight an inside the cramped hall, and allowed her to lead them outside. As soon as they reached the open yard, he took out one of his swords, and gained hold of one of the reflecting balls in the garden. He then shouted his friends to duck, before running towards Medusa. But Medusa dodged the blow and tried to slash Percy with her claw, while trying to remove the veil from her face. She spoke up, "So, son of Poseidon managed to identify me. What gave me up, if I may know?" Percy understood the game, and moved behind Medusa, all the while walking slowly. He replied, "Well the frightened expression on the statues, your story and your two sisters, the slight hissing noise from your body made it easy to know that you were Medusa." Percy saw his chance when he saw that Medusa was busy in removing the veil, before quietly creeping behind her, and cutting her head off, as soon as the veil came off. But Medusa seemed to expect the move, and jumped sideways as the veil came off her head.

This caused his two fiends to break out of their reverie, and they immediately averted their eyes and Luke took out his sword while activating his cap. As Luke went in for a flying strike, Medusa's attention was diverted. She swiped at Luke, causing wounds on his hand from her claws. But it gave time for Percy to sneak up on her, and her head was cut off before she could blink her eyes. Percy immediately kicked the fallen veil over her head which remained as a spoil of war.

An ashen Thalia ran over and hugged Percy and Luke, holding them tight till Percy choked out that she was strangling him. Thalia immediately released him, and blushed when Percy smiled at her. Then came a pale faced Luke who apologized to Percy for not believing him. He said, "Percy, I am sorry that I chastised you when you warned us and paid you no heed. And again, thanks buddy for saving us from becoming stone. I believe t would have had been an inglorious end to my short life. And please forgive me if I don't hug you till you choke. That's the right of fan girls."

Both the boys dissolved into laughter, before Luke was shocked by a red-faced Thalia, which shut them up nicely. She turned to Percy and said, "Ok seaweed brain that's enough laughing. Now can you tell me what we will do with this head?" Percy seemed to think for a moment, before saying, "Don't worry. I am going to contact Triton, I believe he will be able to integrate it into a shield like yours, but more deadly." He then concentrated to create a mist, before sending a beam of sunlight through it, causing a rainbow to form. He tossed a Golden Drachma, saying, "O Iris, Goddess of Rainbow, show me Triton in Atlantis." The rainbow wavered for a moment, before showing the workshops of the Cyclopes, where Triton was inspecting the work. Percy had to shout loudly for the god to hear, but once he noticed Percy, he erected a veil of silence around himself and said "Her Perce? How is your quest going? Did you miss me?" Percy said, "It's now almost evening and we have already been attacked by the three Kindly Ones and Medusa. But Triton, I wanted a favor. I have here the head of Medusa. If I send it to you, can you make it into a shield like Aegis? But it should have an active and dormant mode; otherwise it will be difficult to use it." Triton looked shocked for a moment before replying, "Congrats brother. You have successfully killed Medusa. I am very proud of you. Send on the head. I am sure the Cyclopes would be able to do it." Percy thanked him before ending the call, and said, "Let's search if there are any Hermes Overnight Delivery Boxes."

The three friends found a Medusa head sized box and put in the head inside it, before Percy wrote the receiver's address as

**Lord Triton**

**Atlantis**

**From Perseus Jackson**

**Medusa Head, Handle with care.**

He then took out some Drachmas from Medusa's drawer, before putting them in the attached pouch, and the box disappeared with a small ping. He was looking through the documents on Medusa's desk, when he saw some receipts from underworld. He immediately took them out, and saw that it was given from DOA Studios. Los Angeles. He thanked Tyche, before calling in his friends and saying, "I believe that we can travel some more today. But look here, the address of Underworld studio is given as DOA Studios, Los Angeles. So, let's move out."

The three demigods started walking through the forest, before they came upon train tracks. Percy immediately closed his eyes and prayed Apollo to tell him the nearest train station in either direction. Immediately he knew that Amtrak station was 1 mile down the road. He opened his eyes and saw that his friends were looking at him curiously. He said, "Well? What are you waiting for? Amtrak station is 1 mile down the line. Get moving. I believe that we will be able to catch a west bound train if you reach in time."

They reached the train in ½ an hour, and found that the furthest going west-bound train went up to Denver. They boarded the train, Percy paying for the tickets. They clambered onto their first class seats, and collapsed on them, releasing a relived sigh. Percy said, "Well, I am knackered. Good night to both of you." Thalia mumbled a goodbye to him, but Luke was already asleep. Thalia and Luke slept like logs, but Percy had an uneasy sleep, before he started dreaming.

He was in a rocky tunnel, with wispy spirits along the way. He was moving towards a pit, and though the spirits were asking him to stop, he felt as if he was attracted towards the pit. He walked up to it, and found that it was extremely deep and wide and was giving off negative monster-like energy, but in a massive scale. Percy thought that it was either the Fields of Punishment or Tartarus. He immediately knew that this dream was not his own, but was being influenced by a powerful being. He knew that it could as well be Hades, and it would be devastating to be caught in a dream by Hades. He employed all the mental strength he was given by Hestia, and managed to pull himself out of the dream. He woke up sweating, and saw that it was not long after midnight. He turned in his bed, and immediately fell asleep again, to wake up at 10 am the next day.

**Well the chapter is over. Thank God.**

**I am sorry guys for posting it so late, but I had gone to my village immediately after exams, and there was no connection there. So Sorry again, and I will try to post the next chapter either today or tomorrow.**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer- Refer to Chapter 1

This is the 3rd chapter, showing the events of Gateway Arch in St. Louis, with some major changes in the story. Review if you want to give your inputs, or any ideas for the storyline. I hope you like it.

**Chapter 3**

The three demigods woke up the next day, refreshed from their adventures the day before. Percy gave them the general idea of their journey, "This train will take us up to Denver, from where we have find an alternate means of transport. I believe that we will at least manage to avoid the troubles and monsters on the train." The other two demigods nodded, before Thalia said, "Well guys, I saw a weird dream today. I was in a dark tunnel, where the spirits were also present. I walked up to a pit and I tell you, it was horrifying. I heard a deep chant and felt as if a presence in the pit was trying to pull me in. I woke up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat." Percy looked surprised and said, "I had almost the exact dream, but I woke up before I could go much near the pit. This indeed is alarming. If this is only coming to us, the children of Big Three, then it will surely cause problems, and may even be related to the great prophecy, though the presence of the spirits points towards Hades' involvement, but it is too early to be sure."

The children looked worried, but soon over started feeling restless. Luke suggested a game of Truth or Dare, and the two readily agreed. The bottle was spun, and it came to rest opposite Luke, who groaned, before opting for truth as soon as he had one look at the grin on Percy's face. Percy asked, "Ok Luke, now tell me, is there any one girl in the camp whom you find the most beautiful? Answer truthfully now; I am the champion of the God of Truth." Luke's face immediately became extremely red, and he stuttered out a reply, but Percy said, "Luke, you have to be louder, otherwise how I will hear your reply?" Luke blurted out, "I believe its Thalia." And he immediately closed his mouth, not daring to meet Percy or Thalia's eyes. Percy smiled knowingly, but it was for the first colored with a feeling Percy could not identify, which basically made him feel irritated with Luke. Thalia cooed and said, "I am really flattered Luke. Thank you very much for the compliment."

Next it was Thalia's turn for rotating the bottle, and it came to rest on Percy, who looked a bit apprehensive. Thalia smiled evilly and said, "Mr. Jackson, what do you choose? Would you choose truth or dare?" Percy signed up for truth, knowing that Thalia would give some impossible to complete dare, which would make him humiliated. Thalia asked him, "Ok, so tell me Percy, do you have any crushes or like that in camp?" Percy swallowed hard, before saying, "Yes." Thalia jumped on her chance and asked, "Won't you tell your best friend about her?" Percy said, "I would have loved to tell you, but this time I will let it pass." Thalia looked dejected, before brightening again, passing the bottle to Luke. Luke spun it, and it fell on Thalia. Luke asked for truth or dare, and Thalia chose truth, saying, "It would be against the spirit of the round if I chose a dare." Luke internally smiled, before asking, "Since both of us boys have answered some pretty personal questions, I think it's your time. When you have a boyfriend in future, whom would you like as one from among the boys at camp?"

Thalia kept quiet for a few minutes, before saying, "Well I would prefer Percy really. According to Aphrodite cabin, he is currently the hottest boy in the camp, closely followed by Luke and then Will. But Luke would be almost as good." Percy blushed red, while Thalia had a carefully constructed air of nonchalance about her, whereas Luke tried to smile, but was having a contest inside him, whether to be sad that Thalia prefers Percy over him, or Thalia considers him also a potential boyfriend candidate. But he spoke, "Well if you like Percy, why don't you take him as your boyfriend Thalia? After all he is the most sought after boy in camp." This time Thalia blushed faintly, before saying, "I didn't tell I liked Percy. I only told what Aphrodite cabin said. Besides, Percy is one of my best friends, so keep you imaginations under control Luke." She then stood up, and abruptly left the carriage, leaving the two boys alone. Percy glanced uneasily at Luke before saying, "That went well, don't you think." Luke shook his head and got up and left the carriage, leaving Percy to ponder on Luke's actions.

Both his friends came in from opposite directions after about an hour, and they sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few hours, till the train stopped at St. Louis, and it was announced that the train would stop there for three hours. Thalia got up and said, "Who's going to see the St. Louis Gateway Arch? Because I am going out of here, may hell come or high water." The boys jumped at this chance of moving out of the restrictive compartment, and accompanied Thalia to the Gateway Arch. Thalia might have had been afraid of heights, but with Percy's help, she was able to go up as long as she did not look down. They moved up the lift with a fat woman who was carrying her dog with her. The dog was a Chihuahua. Percy was surprised seeing that pets were allowed up the monument, but paid no heed to it, interested in seeing the famous Arch from the top.

When they reached the top, the crowd was already thinning. They enjoyed a relatively unrestricted view of St. Louis skyline from the top, though Thalia was careful to not look down directly, and looked at far away landmarks. Soon after, they caretakers announced that the monument was going to close, and people rushed out, Luke got in, but the lift door shut before Thalia and Percy could get in. Now the only people left were the caretaker, Thalia, Percy, a young man, the lady and her dog, which as growling faintly towards the two demigods, and made Percy wary of it. The lady asked them, "Are you alone dearies?" Thalia shook her head, before saying, "Our parents are already on the ground. They do not like heights." The lady nodded understandingly, before her dog started yapping at Percy and Thalia. She said, "Don't be a bad boy sonny." But the dog continued barking, and she said, "Well if you insist son, then so be it."

Percy caught on to this, and asked her, "Did you call the Chihuahua your son?" The lady smiled, and said, "Chimera, not Chihuahua dear. It's an easy mistake to make." The dog's leash unfastened and the dog started growing, till it was the size of giant lion, with a body of a goat and a serpent for its tail. Percy immediately took out his swords, and said, "Thalia, I will try to cut the head. Can you keep the mortals safe from the monster?" Thalia nodded, before getting behind Percy and between the mortals and the monsters. The lady, now with fanged teeth a forked tongue, said, "Be honoured Perseus Jackson, Thalia Grace, Lord Hades rarely asks me to hunt a demigod with my sons. He employs his furies. You should be really honored, for I am the Mother of Monsters, the most terrible Echidna."

Percy had guesses it, but it never the less made her wary. He saw that the Lion head was getting to blow fire, and remembering his fire immunity, he also got ready to strike at the head. As soon as the chimera blew fire, Percy ran through the torrent and struck at the lion head. But his sword was stopped by the thick nameplate that the Chimera was wearing. His sword was wrenched from his hand, and he also saw Echidna attacking Thalia. The moment of distraction cost him dearly, as the snake head bit him in the thigh, injecting poison and causing a rapid burning sensation to spread throughout his body. Percy knew that Chimera poison would kill in a few minutes if left untreated, but he also knew that if he retreated, then Thalia would be overwhelmed and killed. So he held his ground, and sidestepped cleanly when he saw the monster charge at him. The monster blew out flames at the Arch and a hole was formed in the national monument. Percy saw that he was standing to the back of the monster, and with a single strike chopped off the snake head from the chimera's tail

The monster howled in pain, and turned again to face the son of Poseidon. By this time, Percy had recognized his mistake of using the sword, and instead unclipped his spear, holding it in one hand and his sword in the other. The Chimera, now injured, again tried to charge at Percy and blow fire, but as soon as it opened its mouth, he thrust the spear into, causing the monster to gag on it for a moment before dissolving in golden sands. By now Percy's head was swimming, and he started preparing to heal himself.

But his attention was immediately drawn to cry of help, and with a mental face palm, he remembered Thalia was fighting Echidna. He looked around at the last moment and saw that Thalia was dangling out of the hole blown by the Chimera. It was a tenuous hold, and he ran to help her, but he was sluggish at best as the chimera venom was already poisoning him. He was pretty beat up, but when he saw Thalia fall through, he ran after her, a new energy coursing through him and when he saw a cackling Echidna, he threw his sword with all his remaining energy at her, which pierced her flank, and caused her to dissolve her into golden sand. He saw that Thalia was screaming in terror at falling from the arch, and immediately jumped after her, throwing caution to winds. He caught up with Thalia, before he subconsciously caused the river below them to rise and help their descent, while he tried to control the water in their bodies and around them in atmosphere to slow them down. But he saw that they were still going to hit water very fast, and immediately covered Thalia with himself, hugging her completely, and splashing down, which did not hurt him in the least, a perk of him being a son of Poseidon.

As soon as he entered the water, the burning in his body severely lessened, but he immediately got to the surface, so that Thalia could breathe. He saw that Thalia had a no. of cuts on her, and being energized and healed as soon as he hit the water, he immediately started healing Thalia. Thalia, who was whimpering all the while, opened her eyes when she felt the water, and seeing Percy, hugged him fiercely, crying freely clutching her best friend. Percy hugged her back, soothingly saying, "It's alright Thals. You are ok now. Don't worry, I am here." Thalia finally calmed down, and said, "You are so stupid Percy. What possessed you to jump after me from the Arch? What would have happened if there had been no river or water underneath?" Percy hugged Thalia again, and whispered in her ear, "I would have protected you with my life. Remember Thals, I will follow you even to Tartarus." Thalia again started crying, and said "Why Percy, why? Why do you care for me so much?" Percy wanted to tell the truth, but his courage failed, and he lied, "Because you are my bestest friend in the world Thals." Thalia disentangled herself from Percy, and stood up, and soon after Luke reached them too.

He said, "Well I leave you two alone for a few minutes, and you blow torch a national monument before jumping out from more than 600 feet height. I really should never leave you alone. Now tell me what happened." Percy and Thalia told them about the Chimera and Echidna, and while Percy stopped after killing the chimera, Thalia went on to say how her feet slipped on the edge of the hole, and how Percy jumped out of the arch after her, and how he saved her from becoming 'Demigod Chutney'. Luke had a new light of admiration for Percy in his eyes. Thalia finished her narration by saying, "I was so afraid Luke, that I would not be able to see any of you again, that I was resigned to my fate that I was going to die, but this idiot jumped out of the Arch and went after me, and I am sure he didn't remember there was a river below the Arch before jumping out."

Percy blushed, before saying, "We should start moving before the media comes here." They then started moving out as soon as they saw media and police vans arriving, but Thalia remembered that her spear was inside water. Percy struck out his chest, and jumped into the river, and started searching for the spear. He saw a glint of bronze, and swam towards it, retrieving the spear, he was about to get up, when he saw a watery figure beckoning him, when he advanced towards it he heard, "Come forward, son of Poseidon. I am Thetis, the mother Achilles, a Nereid, a nymph of the sea and a courtier of your father. I have a message from your father."

Percy was excited, and he said, "What message does dad have?" The Nereid smiled and said, "Come to the Santa Monica beach before you go to the underworld. And also, don't trust the gifts." Percy was confused, and said, "What gifts are you talking about?" The Nereid smiled and dissolved into the water, saying just "Good Luck Hero" before vanishing. Percy was puzzled, before rising out of water and narrating the happenings to his friends. Thalia and Luke looked thoughtful, before replying, "We should first go to the Santa Monica beach. It's not wise to ignore the summons of a god. But I believe that we should beware any gifts that we get during our journey. Now let's get to the station, or we will miss the train." The three demigods started running towards the station, arriving, laughing, just on time for the train to leave.

**Huh, the 3****rd**** chapter is now over, and really, it took way too long to complete a 2400 word chapter. Like it, love it, hate it, review and give your views guys and gals. Signing off for the fortnight. **

**Yours Truly,**

**TheMythWriter**


End file.
